Innocence
by Armae
Summary: Judy arrives in Zootopia for her field trip only to be paired up with Gideon Grey, who has no intention of doing as he is told. Judy goes out to find him but soon becomes lost in the sprawling metropolis. However, random acts of kindness from a teenaged pawpsicle hustler may just set the two kits back onto the right path.


Judy stood on her tiptoes behind her classmates to get a better view of the museum.

Her legs were still stiff from the train ride.

She had wanted to run up and down the train to stretch her legs and see the view but her class had been confined to one car.

They were allowed to get up to use the bathroom but otherwise, they had to stay in their seats.

'For safety reasons,' Mrs Armadio had said.

Now her class stood in line on the sidewalk, waiting for their name tags.

Judy tried in vain to stop her foot from thumping against the pavement.

Her mother told her it was bad manners.

 _Let us in already!_

"There you go," her teacher sighed, sticking a name tag to Judy's shirt.

 _Judy Hops_

Judy had to bite her lip to stop herself from groaning.

 _Why does Mrs Armadio always forget the other 'p'?_

She opened her mouth to correct her but she had already moved onto the next student.

Judy peeled off the tag to correct it with one of her markers.

She didn't get the chance, as the teacher had finally finished labeling the class.

The name tag wouldn't stick back on her shirt so she just shoved it in her buffalo pouch.

"Okay, so does everyone have their buddy?" Mrs Armadio asked.

"Yeeeesss," the other kids grumbled.

Judy looked to Sharla and Gareth, already paired up.

They looked at her...

 _Well... sheepishly._

She frowned.

 _I'm nine years old already, I don't need a buddy!_

"Gideon? Who's your buddy?" Mrs Armadio called out.

"Don't want one!" Gideon crossed his arms and scowled.

"Then partner up with Judy. This isn't optional, Gideon," the teacher said firmly.

Judy touched her scarred cheek, heart hammering.

 _No. I'm not scared of him!_

So she calmly walked over and stood next to him at the end of the line.

Gideon glared at her.

 _Just pretend you're already a cop, and he's just a bad guy._

Slowly, her class filed into the museum.

The marble floor was cool beneath Judy's feet.

She gasped at the giant columns looming above them, her classmates echoing her awe.

"...nerd," Gideon mumbled beside her.

She ignored him.

 _That's what you do with bullies, you ignore them._

Looking up at the ceiling, Judy stood agape.

 _The museum is even bigger than I thought it would be!_

 _I wonder if elephants and giraffes helped build it?_

The walls were smooth – she could even see her reflection in them.

 _I wonder if someone polishes the walls?_

Judy beamed, her eager eyes greedily taking in the novelty around her.

She had been looking forward to this field trip to Zootopia for months.

The museum was great but she was most excited about the afternoon tour.

 _The Zootopia Police Department!_

Her tail wiggled with excitement.

She petted her buffalo pouch and it jingled from all the pennies she had saved from her allowance.

Turning down trips to the local ice cream parlor, resisting the urge to buy more stuffed toys...

Soon, it would all be worth it.

On their itinerary was a visit to one of the massive shopping malls.

She could finally buy herself new detective books!

Judy ambled along happily as the porcupine tour guide explained the museum rules.

"No touching the exhibits and no eating or drinking allowed."

Mrs Armadio chimed in. "And our own rules: Stay with your buddy, and no leaving the museum!"

Judy couldn't help but roll her eyes.

 _Who would want to leave all this? There's nothing like it in Bunnyburrow, after all!_

She looked back longingly through the glass doors at the ZPD building opposite.

 _I can't wait for after lunch!_

She blinked at a flash of red and blue.

Gideon had waited until the line moved and snuck out of the entrance.

 _Oh no!_

"Mrs Armadio!" Judy called out, but she was too far away to hear her.

 _I'll just have to take care of this myself!_

She bolted out the door after him.

"Gideon, stop!" she cried out.

He sneered from over his shoulder but sped up.

 _He's fast!_

"Where are you going?!" Judy yelled between breaths.

"Like I'm gonna tell _you_ , dumb bunny!" he replied.

It was a busy morning in the Savanna, with mammals of all sizes crowding the streets on their way to work.

Judy narrowly dodged being stepped on by an elephant.

"Hey! Watch it bunny, or I'll be wearing you as slippers!" he lifted his hoof and pointed at it angrily to emphasize the point.

Judy scurried back out of the way, gasping.

 _That was scary!_

She wanted to turn tail back to the museum but her parents' voices steeled her determination.

 _'There's never been a bunny cop. Bunnies don't do that.'_

She nodded to herself.

 _I have to be brave and prove them wrong!_

Gideon had stopped. Judy raced over to him.

"You're gonna be in BIG trouble, Gideon!" she yelled, putting her paws on her hips.

He just shrugged.

"Why'd you stop, then?" she asked.

He grinned but it made her shudder. "Can't have fun without no money," he said, eyeing the pouch around her waist.

Before Judy could blink, Gideon had unclipped her pouch.

"No! Give it back, that's my field trip money!" Judy shouted, reaching out to try to snatch it back.

"Why'd ya think I took it, dummy!" he snickered. She heard his voice, but he had already melted away into the crowd.

Her stomach churned.

It was like when she got winded with a soccer ball at practice, right in the stomach.

Only worse.

She tried to catch her breath.

Looking behind her, she realized with dread that she had no idea of how to get back to the museum.

She clenched her paws to stop them from trembling.

 _Calm down, just think: what would Nancy Shrew do?_

 _Retrace my steps!_

Judy turned around and started walking.

Nothing seemed familiar.

 _I guess I wasn't paying much attention while I was running._

All the streets in Savanna looked the same to her.

Did she just pass Troop street? Or was it Herd? Flock?

 _I should find a responsible adult. Like a cop._

She hopped up onto a bench for a better view, but couldn't see any police officers in sight.

 _Gotta keep trying!_

* * *

Judy's feet hurt. It was much harder to run on pavement than on grass.

A nearby clock chimed eleven times.

 _I wonder if Mrs Armadio has noticed we're gone?_

She looked up at the building: Lemming Brothers bank.

 _Maybe I'll just sit here for a bit._

She curled her legs to her chest.

 _What have I done? I'm lost and I'm going to get in trouble._

She smacked her dry lips together.

No money to buy a drink or food.

 _My detective novels... I can only get them here in Zootopia!_

Worse, at this rate, she would miss the tour of the ZPD.

A warm tingle rushed behind her eyes.

 _It's not fair._

 _I don't know what to do!_

She put her head on her arms and cried.

Nobody stopped to help.

Her nose was running.

 _I know I should be brave but I don't feel brave at all right now._

After a while...

"Hey, bunny," a voice made her lift her head up.

It was a red fox in a high school uniform.

"Why is your nose twitching? I'm not gonna bite," he grinned, adjusting his sunglasses. "What happened? Did someone steal your lunch money?"

Judy gave an indignant sniff.

"You're not a responsible adult and I don't talk to strangers," she mumbled.

 _I'm in a public place, I'll be safe._

She noticed the smaller fox beside him elbowing him in the leg.

 _A kid like me, I guess._

"Yo, the movie starts in like, fifteen minutes. You comin' or what?" says the little fox in a deep voice that gave Judy a start.

The taller fox waved a paw at him. "We can spare a minute, jeez," he said.

He gestured to him with a thumb. "He's a responsible adult, don't worry."

Judy looked at him, incredulous.

The little fox gave her a grumpy look. "What, you ain't never seen a grown fennec fox before?"

She shook her head. "Sorry, sir."

Both foxes seemed surprised by the formality.

Judy studied her feet. "I'm on a field trip. My class is at the Natural History Museum."

The red fox gave a low whistle. "Boy, are you in the wrong place!"

Judy bit her lip but fresh tears still blurred her vision.

"Hey, it's okay, we all get lost sometimes," he said with a kind smile, handing her a red handkerchief.

She took the handkerchief gratefully and wiped her eyes. She blew her nose.

"Ew! What, are you completely made of mucus?!" he exclaimed.

"I'm sorry, here," Judy gave it back to him.

"Ugh, gross," he took it gingerly and slipped it in his school bag.

"...Anyway, cheer up. We'll walk you back to the museum. There's another movie on later anyways," he said.

Judy stood and nodded.

He raised an eyebrow. "'Thank you sir' is usually polite," he said, placing his paws behind his back.

Judy mumbled her thanks.

He shook his head. "Once more... and with eye contact, young lady," he scolded.

She finally looked up at him. "...Thank you, sir."

He smiled.

 _His teeth are very pointy-looking._

"Well, you don't see that every day! Purple eyes, huh? Where'd you get those?"

"...they're my mom's," Judy said.

He chuckled. "Then you'd better give 'em back!"

Judy frowned. "That's lame," she said.

He shook his head, adjusting his grip on the school bag held lazily over one shoulder.

"You got a name, kid?" he asked.

"I'm not telling a stranger my name!" Judy replied sternly.

The fox shrugged. "Smart. I'm calling you 'Purple' then. Call me... 'Green'."

He motioned to his shorter friend, who nodded and walked back to the car park.

"Do you like cherry or blueberry?" he asked suddenly.

Judy blinked, confused.

"Cherry, I guess?" she said.

Green nodded and picked up the cooler his friend returned with.

He cracked open the lid and pulled out a pawpsicle. "On the house, Purple."

She frowned. "I shouldn't take candy from strangers!"

"You're a regular little bunny scout, aren't ya?" Green chuckled. He handed one to his friend and they started eating.

Judy's stomach growled. "I… I guess one couldn't hurt."

She cautiously took the cherry pawpsicle he held out.

"Let's get you back to the museum," he said and started walking.

Judy had a taste of the pawpsicle.

 _It's so refreshing!_

"What happened there?" Green pointed at his own cheek.

Her ears drooped lower.

 _I guess it still looks bad._

"Oh, this. The same bully that took my money did that. He's a fox from my class," she said.

The two of them flinched.

Green sighed. "Purple, you should know: not all foxes are jerks, okay? Bet you can think of plenty of _bunnies_ who are jerks too, right?"

Thinking about it, Judy nodded.

They walked along the street, the two foxes seeming at ease in the lunch rush.

Judy looked nervously at her watch. "How much further?"

"Almost there," Green replied.

Judy saw a flash of red and blue in the distance.

 _Gideon!_

He was walking by a cafe where a beaver had his coat draped over a chair.

"What is it, Purple?" Green asked, following her line of sight.

"That the kid from your class?" he whispered.

Judy nodded, appalled at the sight of Gideon snatching a wallet from the coat pocket.

The foxes seemed just as angry as her.

"Gid-" Judy started, but Green shushed her.

He casually walked towards Gideon and at the last second, stuck his leg out to trip him over.

The wallet flew from Gideon's paws.

Green caught it easily and put the wallet back in the suit pocket, unnoticed.

"What the-" Gideon began, getting to his feet.

Green pulled him along by the elbow. "You keep that up, you'll be just another fox in jail. That what you want?" he growled lowly.

Gideon struggled, but Green had a firm grip on him. "Who the heck are you to tell me-"

He looked up at him as if he only just noticed Green was a red fox, too.

Green glared at him. "Punks like you give us foxes a bad name!"

Gideon wriggled out of Green's grasp but didn't run away.

 _Is he... crying?_

"What else am I s'posed to do? I can't do nothin'!" Gideon said, brushing the tears away angrily with the back of his paw.

Judy noticed they had arrived at the steps of the museum.

Green scoffed. "Well, anything would be better than being a thief. Or a _bully,_ " he pointed to Judy's scars.

Gideon's ears slid back. "I'm only good at eatin' pies."

Green threw his paws in the air. "So? I dunno, kid! Bake pies for all I care!"

Judy saw a look on Gideon's face that she had never seen before.

"I could... be a baker?" he said hopefully.

Green shrugged. "That was just an examp-" he began before noticing Gideon's expression.

"Sure! Why not?" he said, smiling slightly. "Oh, and I think you have something that belongs to her?" he gestured to Judy.

Gideon took his backpack off and warily handed Judy back her buffalo pouch.

"Thank you, Gideon," she said.

"I spent about five dollars on... pies," he admitted.

"But you'll pay her back, right?" Green said pointedly.

"Y-yes sir, I will," Gideon said, fidgeting nervously.

"Good."

Judy licked off the last of her pawpsicle and threw the stick in the nearby trash can.

 _Where'd he go?_

She turned to see Green and his friend walking away.

"I will pay you back someday too, Green!" she called out, grinning.

Without looking back, he waved.

"I'll be waiting, Purple."

* * *

A/N: Since I've been sick and chapter 21 of 'Through the Wall' isn't ready yet, I offer this as a peace offering in the mean time. ^_~

Thank you so much for your reviews and messages. I read and treasure every single one! If I haven't replied to you yet I apologize, I will eventually!

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